NHL Trade Rumors: New York Rangers and the Trade Deadline Buyers

Time is quickly ticking away as teams around the NHL ponder what, if anything, to do before the February 27th trade deadline.

Bottomfeeders like the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers are all poised to shed players (and their salaries) before the end of the month, with these three contenders poised to bolster their odds of hoisting the Stanley Cup by picking up whoever ends up on the block.

New York Rangers

It's not every year (much less every day) that the New York Rangers are sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings, their eyes legitimately aimed at hockey's biggest prize for the first time in at least a decade-and-a-half.

This, despite an offense that ranks just 13th in the league in goals per game.

Henrik Lundqvist and a stout defense will take the Rangers a long way in the playoffs, though they could certainly use a spark to get the puck moving more smoothly on offense. As such, expect GM Glen Sather to be in on a number of hottest goal-scoring names on the market, including Tuomo Ruutu, Ryan Smyth and Rick Nash. 

Philadelphia Flyers

Just four points behind the Rangers in the Atlantic Division are the Philadelphia Flyers, who can't seem to stop the puck to save their lives. The Flyers yield 2.87 goals per game despite giving up the ninth-fewest shots of any team in hockey.

Much of the credit (or blame) for that belongs to the goal-tending tandem of Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky, who've combined to post the league's fifth-worst save percentage.

Short of snagging Evgeni Nabokov from the New York Islanders, the Flyers will likely have to ride with the goalies they have, making it that much more important for them to seek upgrades on the blue line and pray that their offense can continue to score at such a stunning pace. 

Chicago Blackhawks

Like the Flyers, the Blackhawks can't seem to impede the progress of the puck or stop it from hitting the net. GM Stan Bowman may enter his team into the Nabokov sweepstakes, though with his recent support of Ray Emery and Corey Crawford, it appears as though the only changes in store would come among Chicago's stock of defensemen.

The 'Hawks would be the sixth seed in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today, though they don't figure to advance very far unless Bowman makes a move or two to upgrade the blue line (if not the netminding) before the deadline comes and goes.

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